Oregon Commit Ashton Cozart Raves About New Ducks Staff at Under Armour Future 50
The recent talk of Oregon's recruiting success in the 2023 class has been Dante Moore. And that's understandable. After all, he's the program's highest-rated quarterback commit ever.
But how about the players that will be catching passes from him?
Wide receiver Ashton Cozart decided to switch things up in his recruitment about two months ago when he flipped his commitment from the Oklahoma Sooners to the Oregon Ducks. Zach Goodall, publisher of Fan Nation's AllGators, caught up with the talented pass catcher in Florida over the weekend at the Under Armour Future 50 Camp.
Cozart committed to the Sooners back in February, but there was one coach that maintained a long-standing relationship with him, one that dates all the way back to his childhood. When that coach circled back around, he felt like he had to listen.
"I grew up in the Pacific Northwest," Cozart said. "I'm sure you know Junior Adams the receiver coach. He's developed Cooper Kupp, Kendrick Bourne, big-time receivers like that. I've always had a relationship with him growing up there and he's recruiting me since freshman year. When he hit me up, it definitely sparked something in me like it would be great to go back to the Pacific Northwest."
Adams is just one coach that is already flourishing after trading in the Husky purple and gold for the Oregon green and yellow and Cozart offered more about what makes him special.
"He's a perfectionist. Coach Adams is truly like a trainer. You kind of get that coach feel from him, but he's also your trainer too. You can really work with him and he can really make you better at your position. That went big for me. That's what it came down to for me was development and he brings the biggest plate."
The 6-foot-3 wideout, now at Martin High School in Flowermound, Tex. spent his first two high school seasons in Washington. Once he moved to the Lone Star State he never envisioned himself flocking back to the West Coast.
"Before when I was blowing up in my recruitment and just moving to Texas I was like 'Man I never wanna go back up there,' " he said. "As soon as you kind of mature and kind of see everything on how it is and future moves, not like money moves but like business moves. Okay this would be a better situation for me in the future.
"I'm really glad that it ended up being in the Pacific Northwest with all my connections out there. I'm really happy it came down to that."
While his sights are set on his senior season before arriving in Eugene, there's quite a bit of change that could unfold in the near future, particularly with conference realignment. But Cozart isn't fazed by the uncertainty.
"To be honest with you I don't care where we move," he said of Oregon's conference future. "I don't care if we're in the SEC. That's originally where I wanted to play. It don't matter if it's Pac-12, SEC, ACC, anywhere. I'm ready to play no matter what."
Junior Adams is likely the coach with the strongest ties to the playmaker, but this recruitment was and still is a team effort.
"Coach Dillingham, Coach Lanning, all those coaches. I don't know how to explain it," Cozart said. "It's like a family really. I have a big group chat with the whole staff and we always talk and just crack it up in there. It's really nice."
This new coaching staff has been praised repeatedly for their ability as recruiters, but Dan Lanning may hold the crown for now, due in large part to the recruiting battles he won to prevent players from transferring.
"He's done a pretty good job with what he's done at Oregon," he said of Lanning. "I know a lot of the guys on the team that after Cristobal left they told me 'we all wanted to transfer when we found out he left. But when Coach Lanning came in with the new staff, the relationships that we started with Lanning, I couldn't switch. It's too good.' "
Oregon also has wide receiver Jurrion Dickey committed in the 2023 cycle, who will pair nicely with Cozart at the next level.
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